hmv.com previews... 2017's Best Albums - These Could Either Way...

Over the next 10 days we'll be previewing 100 of the best albums you can expect to hear in 2017. Most will come out, some inevitably won't, but they are all worth getting excited about.

Today we move on to a very special category, the ones that could either way, we hope they'll be with us this year, but there's a good chance they won't...

Sam Smith

A little background…

The singer was full of enthusiasm for his new album when he did interviews on Oscars night after he won for ‘Writing’s On The Wall’, but it’s been a wall of silence since then. Will we get a follow-up to In The Lonely Hour in 2017?

Any titles yet?

Nope (you’re going to be reading that a lot in this instalment).

Have they got a producer on board?

Smith has been working with EG White, who he worked with extensively on In The Lonely Hour.

Any special guests?

One. Smith has been writing with singer and sometime Queen frontman Adam Lambert.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

Smith’s early interviews have talked up the album’s dark sound and how he plans to plumb the depths of his soul, so expect another brooding collection of soulful pop. As for when, no idea, if it’s 2017 it’ll be at the end of it.

LCD Soundsystem

A little background….

It looked like LCD Soundsystem were gone for good when they announced their split in 2011, but last year they disproved that with a big reunion tour that included festival headline slots all over the world. In their reunion announcement they also promised a new album, one that will hopefully be with us in 2017...

Any titles yet?

Not yet no.

Have they got a producer on board?

James Murphy will be handling this side of things.

Any special guests?

Nothing to report here.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More cerebral dancefloor fillers with enormous choruses. No word on when though, maybe it’ll coincide with another festival run this summer.

Tool

A little background…

Another year has come and gone and there is still no sign of a new Tool album. It all started so promisingly when the band announced a big tour for start of 2016, but no new album has followed. There have been various snippets in interviews that the band are working, but nothing that points to a release date for the follow-up to 2006’s 10,000 Days.

It is for bands like them that we’ve created this category...

Any titles yet?

Nope.

Have they got a producer on board?

The band will be handling the album themselves, given they’ve been working on this for almost a decade it’d be difficult to ask a producer to hang around for that long...

Any special guests?

No idea.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More boundless ambition and intricate progressive music, as for when, there is really no point in answering that question...

Limp Bizkit

A little background…

The years since Limp Bizkit’s 2011 album Gold Cobra have been busy ones for the band. They’ve lost longtime member DJ Lethal, left two labels - first their major label deal at Interscope, then their new arrangement with hip-hop mega label Young Money Cash Money - and toured the world a number of times, including a co-headline jaunt with Korn that’s just wrapped in the UK.

Any titles yet?

Ah yes, it’s got the title of Stampede Of The Disco Elephants.

Have they got a producer on board?

The band have been working with Ross Robinson on this new album.

Any special guests?

If they include ‘Ready To Go’, their collaboration with Lil Wayne, then yes, but they’ve left the label now.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More bouncy riffs and Fred Durst refusing to grow up, as for when, the album is in theory in its final stages, but they’ll need a new label first. Hopefully it’ll all come together in 2017…

System Of A Down

A little background….

It’s been 11 years since the metallers last released a studio album, but they’ve finally confirmed that a new LP is on the way with drummer John Dolmayan revealing that they’ve been working for the last six months and have 15 new songs written. After years of nothing, it’s all getting rather exciting...

Any titles yet?

Nope.

Have they got a producer on board?

Guitarist Daron Malakian has co-produced the band’s last few efforts, but there’s no word on whether any outside producer has been enlisted.

Any special guests?

Yeah nothing on this either.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

They’ve got a summer full of festivals booked so the plan will likely be to either preview it at those shows or try and have it out by then. It’s been 11 years so we’re loathe to make any predictions, we’re just hoping it’ll be finally come out in 2017.

Maroon 5

A little background….

The years following 2014’s V have seen Maroon 5 clearing the decks with the release of their first ‘Greatest Hits’ and a lavish re-issue of their debut album Songs About Jane. Now though their focus is on the future and a new studio album.

Any titles yet?

Not so far.

Have they got a producer on board?

They have. First up there’s Benny Benassi who produced comeback single ‘Don’t Wanna Know’, he’s been in plenty of sessions with the band. They’ve also worked with Jacob Kasher, who is best known for his work with Britney Spears, John Ryan, who has helped Pitbull write some of his biggest hits, and Joshua Coleman, who has worked with Selena Gomez.

Any special guests?

They’ve got Kendrick Lamar on ‘Don’t Wanna Know’, he might not be be the only special guest, we’ll have to wait to find out.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

The band’s guitarist James Valentine has said in interviews that after the glossy pop of V the band were looking more towards their early work and Songs About Jane as inspiration for the new album. That said the array of pop producers and the sound of ‘Don’t Wanna Know’ suggest that the new material may well be more in the vein of V. As for when, if it’s this year it’ll likely be in the second half of it...

Rita Ora

A little background…

By the time we reach 2017 next week it will have been five years since Rita Ora’s debut album was released, that’s an awfully long time for any pop act to go without a new record.

Of course there have been plenty of reasons for that. She had an album ready to go, produced by then boyfriend Calvin Harris, but then their relationship ended, badly, and Harris kept the songs, so that had to be scrapped. She then fell out with label Roc Nation and after lawsuits were announced - and then dropped - she left and is now signed to Atlantic Records.

She has also filled her time with various other commitments, between The X-Factor, The Voice, being the face of Adidas and DKNY and a new gig hosting America’s Next Top Model, it’s easy to see why music has been a little lower down the priorities list.

Will 2017 be the year where she finally makes a new record?

Any titles yet?

None so far.

Have they got a producer on board?

She’s been working with Dev Hynes, but that quite a while ago now.

Any special guests?

Nothing we know about.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More hip-hop influenced pop and R&B, as for when, will it be this year? Next year it’ll be six years since her debut, that’s an awfully, awfully long time...

Fleetwood Mac

A little background…

After reuniting with Christine McVie and touring the world with the classic Rumours line-up back together once again, Fleetwood Mac have now turned their attention to new music. But will it feature Stevie Nicks?

Any titles yet?

Nope.

Have they got a producer on board?

There’s no word on outside contributors as yet, but you’d expect them to be working alongside Lindsey Buckingham.

Any special guests?

No word on this.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More elegant folk pop, but it could possibly be without one key member. Speaking earlier this year Christine McVie has said that seven songs are done and the band are keen to finish them off, but that while she and Buckingham have been working hard, Stevie Nicks has yet to contribute. With Nicks already confirmed for a solo run in 2017, it seems likely that we may hear a new album without one of the band’s most iconic voices...

Will it be this year? Who knows?

Lorde

A little background…

Another pop star taking her time with her second record is Lorde. The singer, who shot to fame with her debut Pure Heroine, has been working away on a new album for the last three years. But will we get to hear it this year?

Any titles yet?

Nope.

Have they got a producer on board?

Lorde has been working away with Joel Little, the same guy who produced her debut.

Any special guests?

Nothing we know about.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More vibrant, witty and experimental pop, hopefully at some point this year.

Justin Timberlake

A little background…

We expected JT to have a quiet year after the birth of his first child, but he’s actually wound up being everywhere thanks to the huge success of his single ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’.

He’s been keen to talk down the progress of the album while on the road promoting Trolls, saying it’s still early stages, but it could well be with us in 2017...

Any titles yet?

Nope.

Have they got a producer on board?

As you’d expect, plenty of big names, with Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Max Martin all confirmed for sessions for the new record.

Any special guests?

You’d expect a few, but nothing’s confirmed.

What can we expect and when can we expect it?

More smart pop music. Timberlake has a few filming commitments, but we’d say a release in the second half of 2017 could well be on the cards...